To The Rescue
by badly-knitted
Summary: Dee is in serious trouble, and Ryo must find him – before it's too late. Written for Prompt # 461: Find / Found at slashthedrabble. This is a much longer version of a ficlet I posted to the community. Set during FAKE Second Season Chapter 3.


**Title:** To The Rescue

**Author:** badly-knitted

**Characters:** Dee, Ryo, Dale, Drake, Ted.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Setting:** FAKE Second Season Chapter 3

**Summary:** Dee is in serious trouble, and Ryo must find him – before it's too late.

**Word Count:** 1275

**Written For:** Prompt # 461: Find / Found at slashthedrabble.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.

**A/N:** A much longer version of a ficlet I posted to the community.

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OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

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When a cop goes missing while investigating a case, it's seldom a good sign, and while Dee wasn't always the most reliable person when it came to being where he said he would be when he said he'd be there, he did usually have the decency to call and say if he was going to be late. He generally tried not to worry Ryo unnecessarily, knowing his partner would likely get mad at him.

This was different though.

It was becoming increasingly obvious that whatever was going on, it had to do with the black market trade in human organs for transplant, and the night before, Dee had mentioned stopping by the free clinic near his apartment on his way to work to show the doctor there a sketch of the boy whose head had been found in a dumpster. Even with the detour, Dee should have been at work by now, but he wasn't and Ryo was damned sure his partner would have phoned him if he'd found anything, or if he needed backup. Unless, something, or someone, was preventing him from doing so, which was beginning to seem increasingly likely.

Ryo had a horrible feeling that Dee might well have unknowingly walked straight into a very bad situation, and that suspicion was all he needed to round up the rest of the squad and head out as fast as he could to search for him. He had to find his partner, before it was too late and Dee became the organ thief's next victim.

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OoOoOoO

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Across town, Dee had indeed found something he wasn't expecting. The clinic, which operated out of a derelict building, was oddly deserted, although he was sure he'd been told someone would be there today. Unfortunately for him, his first impression wasn't entirely accurate. It turned out there was someone there after all, but they had no intention of helping him with his enquiries; quite the opposite, in fact.

The attack was so sudden that before Dee even knew anyone was behind him, he'd been stabbed with a hypodermic. He had no chance to defend himself, and whatever he'd been injected with worked fast. His vision greyed out, blurring his surroundings, and all the strength simply drained from his body.

Sounds became distant, muffled, but as he fell to the floor Dee caught a momentary glimpse of his attacker and even though by now he was barely conscious, he recognised the guy; it was Dale, the medical student he'd spoken with the previous day. Dee cursed himself silently; he should have suspected the helpful young man right away, but it hadn't even crossed his mind that Dale might be involved in whatever was going on. He just had time to think, 'I must be slipping; I'm usually a way better judge of people,' then everything faded out and for a while there was nothing but blackness.

When he regained consciousness, Dee found himself strapped to a cold metal table, naked from the waist up; Dale was standing over him, smugly gloating, the bastard. It was probably a bad time to try questioning him, but restrained as he was, there was little else Dee could do, and the longer he could keep the other man talking, the better, since it quickly became obvious that Dale intended to help himself to Dee's organs next. Dee had nothing against organ donation; he thought it was a good thing, and it saved a lot of lives. Hell, he even carried a donor card! But right now he happened to be using all of his organs and wanted to continue to do so. Taking them without his permission would be theft, as well as cold-blooded murder, and he wasn't about to take that lying down.

Okay, poor choice of phrase, given the circumstances.

Dee decided his only option was to play for time; maybe if he could keep the organ thief talking long enough the drugs he'd been given would wear off and he'd be able to break free of the restraints. After that… Well, he could figure the rest out once he wasn't in imminent danger of dissection; his current predicament was a little distracting.

Dale was a real piece of work; having grown up in the system himself he seemed to believe he was doing his victims a favour, liberating the orphans, the poor and homeless kids, and the runaways from their miserable lives and financing his medical studies with the proceeds he got from selling their bodies off piecemeal, like nothing more than a load of second-hand spare parts.

It was horrifying and disgusting, and Dee was angrier than he'd been in a long time. Dale was targeting kids like himself, and like Dee, orphans with no family, and in so doing, he was taking away their chances of making a better life for themselves the way he and Dee had. Talk about double standards! Who knew what the kids he'd already sliced up might have become, given the opportunity? Worse, his primary motivation was the money he was getting; he apparently saw nothing wrong with taking the lives of who knew how many innocent kids for the sake of his future career, like those he killed should feel honoured that they were helping him further his ambitions.

Dale had to be stopped, that was all there was to it, but right now he had Dee at his mercy, trussed up like the Sunday roast, waiting to be carved. Dee was only too aware that he wasn't in a position to do much of anything, and he knew he'd run out of time when Dale picked up a scalpel and prepared to make the first incision…

When the door flew open and Ryo and Drake burst in, guns drawn, Dee's heart soared; he was saved! He should have known his baby would find him in the nick of time. Ryo could be an airhead at times, but he'd remembered where Dee had said he was going before work, and had mounted a rescue!

Dale wasn't about to come quietly though. He threw the scalpel he'd been about to use on Dee, narrowly missing Drake, and then fled out the rear door as fast as he could run. That was okay; turned out Ryo had stationed Ted in the alley behind the building, armed and ready, in case anyone should try to make a run for it. Dale might have thought he was getting away, but he wasn't going to get very far. Dee felt a surge of pride and his eyes went a bit misty; man, he had one hell of a partner!

As Ryo unstrapped him from the table and helped him up, Dee wanted nothing more than to throw his arms around the man he loved and kiss him senseless, but he didn't have the strength. The effects of whatever had knocked him out were still lingering, he felt weak as a kitten, and then there was the other injection… Dale had said it was just a mild painkiller, but he might have been lying. He should probably get himself checked out by a proper doctor at some point. As for showing Ryo his gratitude, he could thank his baby for the timely rescue later, in private. But first, as soon as he found the strength, he was gonna punch that bastard Dale into the middle of next week. After all he'd done, he had it coming and nobody was going to keep Dee from serving him up his just desserts!

After that, maybe he should find the rest of his clothes. He was starting to feel a little chilly…

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The End


End file.
